Since August of the seventh year of Chongzhen, the yellow-robed thieves have officially invaded Guangdong and Guangxi, and everyone in the city is paying attention to this war.
Guangzhou Dinghelou, the largest restaurant in Guangzhou.
Many literati drank and partyed here.
Among them, three well-known Juren in Guangzhou, Li Shengming, Zheng Ziliang and Lan Lan, led a group of Juren to discuss current affairs.
These people are either geniuses who are preparing to take the imperial examination, or they are low-ranking but powerful middle-level officials in Guangzhou City.
These people represent the attitude of the gentry in Guangzhou.
Li Shengming sighed and said: "The treacherous ministers are in power, causing the country to go from bad to worse.
We have good talents, but because of the obstruction of treacherous officials, we are unable to reuse them for the country.
I think I am proficient in all things literary, military and military, but I can only be busy with documents and have no chance to show off my talents.
In a matter of seconds, the thieves in yellow captured Guangxi.
The hundreds of thousands of Ming troops in Guangxi could not stop the yellow-clad thieves for three months.
The news coming from Guangxi makes people feel cold when they see it. How did Ming Dynasty become like this?
Guilin surrendered, Liuzhou surrendered, and Xunzhou surrendered.
There were no cruel sieges, and no heroic heroes appeared.
Surrender, surrender, surrender.
Every time the thieves in yellow arrived, the local officers and soldiers would surrender.
No pillar of the country stood up to turn the tide, and no one died heroically to awaken the morale of his companions.
There is no one like Shaobao in the world."
Lan Lan saw Li Shengming's angry look, and he felt the same way.
"With the fall of the country, it is impossible to count on those thieves Qiu Ba.
The thieves in yellow are powerful. This is the moment when we unite as one to fight against the thieves and save the country.
If your literary talent is outstanding, you can write poems to curse the thief in yellow to death. You will make the thief in yellow be infamy for thousands of years.
Our way out is for the gentry to organize group training.
There are gentry in Southern Zhili who do this and control their own army. This is..."
Lan Lan was promoting the Donglin Party's rhetoric when suddenly a scholar came onto Dinghe Tower and interrupted Lan Lan's words.
"No, the thieves in yellow have broken through Zhaoqing City, and they are now attacking Sanshui County.
If Shanshui County is destroyed, Guangzhou will have no danger to defend, and the thieves in yellow can follow the Pearl River directly to Guangzhou Prefecture."
Lan Lan's face turned pale with fright, and she said: "So fast, how could it be so fast.
News came some time ago that the Governor had resisted the yellow-robed thieves in Wuzhou City.
Now the thieves in yellow have broken through Zhaoqing City and have reached Sanshui County."
Zheng Ziliang saw that all the people were frightened and their faces turned pale.
Sweat broke out on his head. He didn't expect the Qin army to be so strong.
"Everyone, listen to me and tell the truth. Guangzhou City cannot be defended."
When all the people heard this, their expressions immediately changed.
Some people were kneeling on the ground, kowtowing in the direction of the capital.
Someone immediately burst into tears.
"I studied hard for ten years in Hanchuang before I was admitted to the Juren Examination. How could Guangzhou be unable to hold on?"
An examiner next to him whispered comforting words: "King Qin's imperial examination is easier."
Juren, who was sobbing loudly, wiped his tears and stopped crying.
Everyone present had different attitudes, but none of them refuted Zheng Ziliang's words.
Zheng Ziliang has the highest prestige among them. If he doesn't speak easily, he will be hit if he speaks.
Zheng Ziliang saw that many people were waiting for him to speak.
"Fellow fellow villagers, you all know that if the thieves in yellow occupy Zhaoqing, Xijiang will inevitably be blocked.
The Xijiang River was blocked, and Wuzhou City became an isolated city.
Wuzhou is a small city, with more than 200,000 troops inside, so there won't be much food and grass stored there.
I estimate that the food and grass in Wuzhou can only be used for two to three months.
In three months, the officers and soldiers from southern Zhili and other places could not reach Wuzhou.
Governor Xiong and the more than 200,000 Ming troops are bound to be in trouble.
Governor Xiong made a desperate move and dispatched a large number of Guangdong soldiers and horses to Wuzhou City.
With the weak troops here in Guangzhou City, it is impossible to stop the Qin army's attack."
After Zheng Ziliang introduced the current situation, he said seriously: "Fellow fellow countrymen, the Qin army is about to enter Guangdong. Please make plans early."
He bowed his hands and left Dinghe Tower.
Other scholars, after receiving the news, also returned home.
They must discuss with their families how to deal with the arrival of the Qin army.
Li Shengming came home and saw his old father pacing back and forth anxiously.
"Dad, what should our family do?"
"Our family is mainly engaged in maritime trade, so the arrival of the Qin army will have little impact on us.
If the Qin army wants to take those fields, then take them back.
The newspapers of the Qin Army are already advocating the power of sea trade, and Qin King Su He will never ban sea trade.
They are new here and need the cooperation of experienced experts like us."
"Dad, why don't we go north to escape.
The laws of the Qin army were too harsh, even more cruel than the violent Qin in history."
"Hide, where can you hide?
Southern Zhili, if that place can be stable for a few years, the capital may not be stable either.
The best choice is to become an official of the King of Qin.
If you don't have this ability and the situation is not right, our family will have no choice but to go overseas.
There are many Han Chinese in Java Island, and our family has been able to establish friendship with them.
It’s just that the red-haired people are so powerful there that it’s difficult for us newcomers to gain a foothold, so this is the last option.”
"Dad, I have seen the imperial examination questions from King Qin. The questions are not difficult. My son is confident that he will pass the exam."
…………………………
As soon as Lan Lan arrived home, she saw that the house was being tidied up.
"The young master is back, and he has packed his things.
We will leave the city immediately and follow Beijiang to Nanxiong Mansion.
Once the situation goes wrong, immediately hide in Jiangxi.
If the Ming Dynasty can defeat the thieves in yellow, we will return to Guangzhou."
Lan Lan saw her family fleeing in panic, leaving behind all their property in Guangzhou.
Tens of thousands of acres of fertile land will definitely be eaten up by thieves in yellow clothes. Thinking about it makes me heartbroken.
But there is no other way. If you stay, your family will be ruined. Not many people in their family can survive.
As soon as Zheng Ziliang returned home, he saw that his wife and her maid had hitched up the family carriage and were preparing to take refuge in the countryside.
His family has land in the countryside. He is from a poor family and his family only has more than 200 acres of land.
Taking into account the land he passed the examination and the land donated by nearby villagers, the family's farmland was less than 2,000 acres.
Zheng Ziliang had long seen that sooner or later the Ming court would be unable to hold on.
The gentry did not have to pay taxes, which caused the common people to donate their land to the gentry's name.
As long as this gentry has a darker heart, he can completely occupy the land and turn the people into tenants.
If the common people want to go to court with the gentry, it is basically impossible to win. They will be tortured to death by petty officials before entering the yamen.
A large number of people donated, resulting in the people who donated not paying taxes, and the tax pressure on the people who did not donate became increasingly heavy.
The amount of taxes in each place in the Ming Dynasty was basically fixed.
The gentry did not pay taxes, but continued to expand their land, and the common people had to bear more taxes year by year.
In some places, the taxes paid by the common people are no longer enough for local taxes, forcing tenants to pay taxes.
In places such as the northwest, this situation is getting worse and worse, coupled with natural disasters, leading to endless rebellions among the people.
In the end, the power of King Qin was raised.
"Our family can't leave, the countryside is not as safe as Guangzhou city.
Guangzhou Prefecture cannot stop the Qin army, and the situation in Guangzhou will not be chaotic."
Zheng Ziliang said with great confidence, as if he had an insight into the future development of the situation in Guangzhou.
…………………………
In the Guangzhou Yamen, two groups of civil servants were quarreling.
They represent two forces. Sun Chaosu, the chief envoy of Guangdong, is a confidant of the two governors Xiong Wencan.
He was responsible for mobilizing personnel and materials from Guangdong to support Xiong Wencan's operations in Wuzhou.
Wang Long, the censor of Guangdong, was a member of the Donglin Party.
He mainly safeguards the interests of the Donglin Party in Guangdong.
Sun Chaosu argued vigorously: "We must send heavy troops to open up the Xijiang River that was cut off by the thieves in yellow.
We have already found out clearly that the thieves in yellow don't have many troops in Xijiang.
The most elite 200,000 troops from Guangdong and Guangxi are all in Wuzhou City.
Without supplies from Guangdong, Xijiang is controlled by thieves in yellow, and the Governor's chances of winning are extremely low.
Once the Governor is defeated, the Guangdong and Guangxi regions will not be able to hold on."
Wang Long insisted on disagreeing and said: "The Governor asked us to deploy heavy troops to attack the yellow-clothed thieves who occupied the southwest and west of Guangdong.
Guangdong, southwest and west are lost, and other places cannot be defended.
While the thieves in yellow are not yet firmly established, we must drive the thieves in yellow into the sea."
Both of them have their own purposes.
Sun Chaosu hoped to open up Xijiang as soon as possible and save Xiong Wencan and the more than 200,000 Ming troops in Wuzhou City.
Wang Long hoped to regain Lianzhou Prefecture in the southwest of Guangdong and other places.
When the gentry there saw the thieves in yellow attacking, many of them had already run away in advance.
The Donglin Party in Southern Zhili said that they must win the support of the majority of gentry here in Guangdong.
The local gentry had surrendered to them and took back their land occupied by the yellow-robed thieves. These gentry supported the Donglin Party.
They can also take this opportunity to train their troops, so that some of their toughest men can be killed in battle, and the Donglin Party can control more troops.
The two were quarreling in the yamen. Both of them were very powerful and neither could convince the other.
"My lord, my lord, it's not good."
Wang Long's master rushed into the Yamen with a panicked look on his face.
Wang Long knew that his master was usually very well-mannered, so this must have been a major event.
"The thieves in yellow, the thieves in yellow have conquered Zhaoqing City, with tens of thousands of Ming troops in the city, and now they are fleeing back to Guangzhou.
The thieves in yellow were stopped by Sanshui County."
When Wang Long heard his master's report, his tone became sharp.
"Immediately send heavy troops to Sanshui County to stop the yellow-robed thieves.
We cannot let them rush through Sanshui County. Once Sanshui County is broken, Guangzhou Prefecture will have no danger to defend it."
Sun Chaosu also immediately ordered: "Close the gates of Guangzhou City tightly to prevent the thieves in yellow from doing anything.
Strictly control this news and don't panic the people of Guangzhou.
Immediately send troops to reinforce Sanshui County, and we must block the offensive of the thieves in yellow."
The crisis was just around the corner. Sun Chaosu and Wang Long immediately reached an agreement and sent troops to reinforce Sanshui County.
As soon as they walked out of the Yamen, they saw that the city of Guangzhou was already in chaos.
The news has spread.
A large number of gentry packed up their belongings, and many people flocked to the North City Gate, preparing to flee through Beijiang to Nanxiong Mansion and other places.
A small number of gentry went to the south gate. They were all gentry with sea ships and could escape directly to the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty through sea ships.
…………………………
Lu Xiaoqiu looked at the county seat in front of him. The city in Sanshui County was very small, but there were more than fifty Hongyi cannons on the city wall.
Basically, a Red Yi cannon is next to a Red Yi cannon.
These Hongyi cannons were brought from Foshan Town in the south of Sanshui County.
Lu Xiaoqiu has already received the messenger from the Governor's Mansion.
The First Army and the Eighth Army jointly attacked Wuzhou City.
The main force composed of the First Army and the Eighth Army is marching towards Guangzhou City by ship.
The main force was behind them, so Lu Xiaoqiu could attack the city with confidence.
Even if he encounters a heavy encirclement and suppression by the Ming army, as long as he persists for a period of time, he can wait for the main army to come to his rescue.
"The Hongyi cannons are so dense that they can't even reach the city wall.
Use cannons to blast me. Is the city wall in this small county stronger than a concrete city wall?
Even a meter-thick concrete wall cannot stop the continuous attack of artillery shells."
Lu Xiaoqiu saw that Sanshui County's firepower was too fierce.
The soldiers of the second division were unable to rush under the city wall, so he immediately changed his tactics.
The shells landed directly on the city wall, and the accuracy of field artillery was simply not achieved.
The most elite artillery cannot operate it, and it is usually a matter of luck.
Lu Xiaoqiu asked the artillery regiment to fire part of the artillery shells to attack the Ming army inside the city wall.
If you are lucky and blow up the Hongyi cannon on the city wall, you will make a lot of money.
Part of the artillery fired directly and used shells to break the city wall of Sanshui County.
Cannonballs filled with yellow explosives are extremely powerful.
Every cannonball hitting the city wall can make a small crater in the city wall.
The artillery regiment attacked continuously for two days and one night, and the city wall of Sanshui County finally collapsed.
Lu Xiaoqiu sent troops to rush into Sanshui County and occupy the last county seat to the west of Guangzhou City.
He took an armed merchant ship and marched towards the city of Guangzhou.
As soon as the fleet entered the Pearl River, they saw a fleet of more than 200 merchant ships approaching them.
Lu Xiaoqiu looked carefully with a telescope and saw that there were only a few ships with cannons on them.
"Immediately launch an attack on the fleet ahead and capture them all."
The armed merchant ships opened fire and were the first to destroy the Ming warships carrying cannons.
The second division quickly captured most of the ships.
The Qin army interrogated the prisoners and learned that most of these ships were transporting reinforcements to the Ming army in Sanshui County.
A small number of them were gentry from Guangzhou and planned to flee to northern Guangdong via Sanshui County by boat.
All these people were captured, and Lu Xiaoqiu left some of his troops to guard them.
He led the army and continued to march towards Guangzhou.
…………………………
Wang Long listened to the master's report in disbelief.
"What did you say? The thieves in yellow have captured Sanshui County, and all the reinforcements we sent have been wiped out.
How did they fight this battle? Sanshui County reported that the vanguard of the yellow-robed thieves was less than 10,000 people.
The reinforcements we sent totaled more than 30,000 people.
He didn't stop the thief in yellow and the entire army was wiped out."
Wang Long's hand that was about to drink tea stopped in the air, thinking about what he should do?
"Sir, there are soldiers returning from a small road, and they bring not very good news."
"Stop playing riddles and tell me the news quickly."
Wang Long urged impatiently.
The master lowered his head and said: "Wuzhou City was attacked by thieves in yellow clothes, and Governor Xiong Wencan's life or death is unknown.
The more than 200,000 troops in Wuzhou City were all surrounded and annihilated by the yellow-clad thieves."
"What? How is this possible?"
With a bang, the tea cup in Wang Long's hand fell to the ground, and the tea splashed out.
"I can't be buried with Guangzhou Prefecture. Wuzhou City has fallen, and an army of more than 100,000 yellow-clad thieves will soon arrive at Guangzhou Prefecture.
The current military strength of Guangzhou Prefecture cannot stop the attack of the thieves in yellow."
"Uncle Fu, pack up your belongings and let's leave Guangzhou by sea ship."
Wang Long and a large number of Ming officials in Guangzhou got the news.
They all took a sea ship and escaped from the sea.
The river can no longer flow, and the Qin army has reached the Pearl River.
When Sun Chaosu got the news, he smashed his beloved flowerpot directly.
"Notify the defenders in Guangzhou City that we will defend Guangzhou City and wait for reinforcements from the imperial court.
There are hundreds of thousands of people in Guangzhou City, and there is enough food for three or four years.
If I can recruit hundreds of thousands of young men to defend the city, I will definitely be able to defend the city of Guangzhou and wait for reinforcements from the imperial court."
…………………………
In Dinghe Tower, Li Shengming convened another gathering of the entire Guangzhou government.
"Everyone has heard that the Qin army has conquered Sanshui County and will arrive in Guangzhou soon.
A large number of officials, including Wang Long, the Censor of Guangdong, had already fled on ships of the Guangdong Navy.
Why are they running away?
After many inquiries, I found out that Governor Xiong Wencan and more than 200,000 elite officers and soldiers from Guangdong and Guangxi were all surrounded and annihilated in Wuzhou by the Qin army.
The chief envoy of Guangdong, Sun Chao, Lord Susun, wanted to defend the city of Guangzhou.
Tell me, what should we do?
It is impossible to escape now. Lan Lan and a large number of other families fled north on boats, but were blocked by the Qin army on the Pearl River, and they were all captured."
Zheng Ziliang came up with an idea: "The city of Guangzhou must be undefendable now, and people's hearts have been dispersed.
We now have to find a way out for ourselves.
Liu Juren, your clan brother is the commander-in-chief of the Guangzhou Army, and Ma Juren, your brother-in-law is the commander-in-chief of the Guangzhou Guards.
Everyone in our group is inextricably linked to the Guangzhou government and army.
When the Qin army besieges a city, their guns and artillery are not smart.
If your family members are in the army, it is very easy for them to die in battle.
Everyone has heard of the tragic situation in Zhaoqing Prefecture and Sanshui County.
If a powerful artillery shell explodes next to your loved ones, will you still be alive?
Everyone has read books and knows what happened to the common people and gentry after the city was besieged for a long time.
When the time comes, those troops will go crazy and turn us into dried meat, which will be called Tian Tian's failure.
Even if they are not so crazy, they will definitely plunder.
We all understand the military discipline of the Ming Dynasty, and the military in ordinary times would not dare to rob us.
Once the city is besieged, it will cause the camp to roar.
They have knives in their hands, do you think these people dare to steal them?"
Li Shengming thought of the scene Zheng Ziliang said, and he asked hesitantly: "Brother Ziliang, you have the most flexible mind. What do you want us to do? Just say it."
He had vaguely guessed what Zheng Ziliang was thinking, but he didn't dare to say it.
Zheng Ziliang said clearly: "Join our forces, open the gates of Guangzhou, and welcome Master Wang into the city.
We, the organizers, will definitely gain great benefits.
At least there is no need to worry about the family being slaughtered by the King of Qin.
The gentry in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and other places have already shown us the benefits of doing so."
"Welcome Master Wang."
Everyone fell into silence, muttering these four words.
…………………………
Lu Xiaoqiu led his troops and marched straight down the Pearl River to Guangzhou.
He has seen the city of Guangzhou through the telescope.
He only planned to blockade the Pearl River, but with the strength of his two brigades, he simply could not capture the city of Guangzhou.
When the fleet arrived at the north gate, Lu Xiaoqiu saw the gates of Guangzhou City wide open and many people standing outside Guangzhou City. There was no sign of a war coming.
Soon a group of people approached the fleet.
They are Li Shengming, Zheng Ziliang and others from Guangzhou, representing hundreds of thousands of people in Guangzhou.
"Sir Wang, don't shoot.
On behalf of the people of Guangzhou, we welcome Master Wang into the city."
Lu Xiaoqiu was shocked that Guangzhou City surrendered.
He asked the artillery regiment to be ready, and the third brigade was ready to respond.
He led the second brigade and followed this group of gentry from Guangzhou Prefecture into Guangzhou City.
He was very worried that the city of Guangzhou was pretending to surrender and it was unreasonable to surrender now.
After Lu Xiaoqiu took control of the city gates and walls of Guangzhou, he believed that Guangzhou City had really surrendered.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
This book is only available for free on the 30th, so you can pick it up if you are not in a hurry.
An update will be released the next day after the limited exemption ends.
More than 8,000 words per day is already approaching the limit, so try to add more updates! I can’t guarantee more.